Becoming Forrest, Forrest Gump

3/29/2020

6 PM

Sunrise Over Pittsburgh, PA

So I hate running. Or I thought I did. But many, many crazy things have changed in the world and that includes my personal relationship with cardio.

Before COVID-19 hit the globe, my main sources of cardio were the spin bike, the stairmaster, and the occasional elliptical. I would sometimes walk on the treadmill at an incline, but that not only bothers my knee, it also is so boring.

But even though we are in a weird state where we are forced to be on lock-down without access to the gym, my determination to be fit and lean for the summer has not changed. I am still reversing (gradually increasing my calories) and still making sure that I stay healthy. Frankly, this health routine is what I think has been keeping me sane during all of this since I have not had any human contact in two weeks.

So without a gym or access to any cardio machine at all, I switched over to running. Throughout my entire life, I have not enjoyed running. I heard of the “cardio high”, I’ve heard of people getting excited over their chaffed nipples, but goodness knows I could never understand the appeal!

"I heard of the “cardio high”, I’ve heard of people getting excited over their chaffed nipples..."

But after two weeks of sticking to it, I can honestly say that I really do enjoy running now. And no one is more shocked than I am.

So How Do I Do It?

Tip Number 1

Decide to run the night before. Before going to sleep, make a decision that you’re going to run and when you get up, don’t even think about it. Just get up, get dressed, and get your shoes on. Any small amount of hesitation will make you start to doubt yourself and YOU may prevent YOU from going. If that makes sense.

Tip Number 2

Give yourself an incentive or a “treat” for afterwards. My personal treat is coffee. I only have a few sips before I run (to prevent having to pee in the middle of it and to prevent my heart-rate from spiking too high), and I save the rest for when I’m done. Nothing is more satisfying to me than coming back from a run outside to that sweet cup of coffee waiting for me.

An idea for your own treat could simply be breakfast, a hot shower, or merely the addictive feeling of accomplishment.

Tip Number 3

Music. Make a running playlist and/or find that one special song that automatically makes you happy and play that first. This will condition yourself to get in a positive “running” mentality as it will automatically lift your spirits and get you ready to go! My personal go-to song right now is Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra. As soon as I hear it, I can feel my heart warm right up, and I am pumped to get started.

Sunrise Over Pittsburgh, PA

Tip Number 4

Create a route you enjoy. For me, I love running by the river. It’s flat, it’s beautiful, and it’s peaceful. It’s just me and the geese out there, and if it’s really early in the morning, there’s nothing like seeing the sunrise.

If I do have to run around my neighborhood, I still will run on a route that’s relatively flat. I’m not out here trying to be a marathon runner nor am I trying to hurt my knees so I choose a path that works for me.

Tip Number 5

Start small. This may be the best tip of all especially if you haven’t been running or doing any type of cardio beforehand. Learning to enjoy running takes time so I highly recommend starting out with a very small goal in mind. If you think it’s too small, it’s probably just-right.

A few different goals you can focus on are time, distance, and calories burned. I personally am focusing on time right now. I run the same distance but try to see if I can beat my time from the day before. Once I feel I’m running at a decent pace, maybe I’ll run a little farther and then switch my goal back to running that distance at a faster pace.

But again, start small. Maybe only run for 10 minutes the first week then bump it up to 12 or 15 minutes the second week. Maybe run until you burn 100 calories and then keep going to burn an additional 50. Or even if you have to stop and walk, say 5 times, maybe you gradually limit the amount of times you stop to four.

Remember, it doesn’t matter the size of the step; it only matters that you take it.

So raise your bottle of water, my little Forrests…

Here’s to Health. Cheers.